Sacroiliac belt



Oct. 27, 1964 L.. P. MACK 3,154,072

SACROILIAC BELT Filed Jan. 9, 1965 United States Patent O 3,154,072 SACRQILIAC BELT Louis P. Mack, 549 W. Randolph St., Chicago, Ill. Filed .Ian. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 250,410 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 78) This invention relates to an improved sacroiliac belt.

In situations where a pain is suffered in the lower back region, a belt is often prescribed which carries a pad which exerts pressure on the ligaments in that region, thus taking a strain off of the ligaments.

Difficulty has been encountered in maintaining the pad in the desired location. The belt as a whole often tends to shift sideways, or even up and down, in the course of the normal daily activities of the patient.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sacroiliac belt in which the pad tends to maintain its position to a much greater extent than in the case of prior devices.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the pad;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

The sacroiliac belt includes a flexible belt member made of suitable fabric or webbing, and preferably it is elastic. The belt is provided with a suitable buckle 11 which includes an adjustment so that the belt may be adjusted to persons of different sizes.

The buckle is located at the front of the belt, and at the rear of the belt is a pad 12 of elongate shape. The pad 12 is secured to the belt member 10 by stitching 13. The stitching is in the form of a rectangle as shown in FIG. 2.

The pad 12 is preferably made of a compressible foam rubber, and the stitching 13 divides the inner surface of the pad into a marginal portion 14 and a central portion 15. The stitching is effected in such a manner that it compresses the material of the pad 12 at the point of stitching so as to form a groove 16. The compression of the pad at the point of stitching causes the marginal portion 14 to be tilted away from the belt and toward the body of the wearer. It also imparts a generally convex shape to the surface of the central portion 15.

It has been found that the tilted up edges in combination with the convex surface of the central portion engage 3,154,072 Patented Get. 27, 1964 ICC the body in such a manner as to greatly increase the frictional coeicient between the body and the surface of the pad. The frictional coefficient is increased to such an extent that the pad will maintain its position all day long.

The exact reason for this is not fully understood, but it is believed that the inclination of the marginal portion 14 causes the corner 17 to be urged into contact with the body in such a manner as to resist sliding forces to a much better degree than if the marginal portion were not thus inclined.

Also tests have indicated that a slight vacuum is developed in the groove 16 when the pad is applied to the flesh of the back. This vacuum is of the order of from 5 to l0 millimeters of mercury.

It has also been found that this nonsliding effect does not occur when the pad is secured to the belt by one or more rows of stitching which extend for the full length of the pad and intersect the side edges.

Although only a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described herein, it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A sacroiliac belt comprising a belt member, a buckle securing the belt in a closed position, a foam rubber pad mounted on the belt, and stitching for securing said pad to the fabric of said belt member, said stitching being in the form of a closed figure to divide the outer surface of said belt into a marginal portion and a central portion, said stitching serving to compress said pad at the point of stitching, said marginal pad portion being tilted away from said belt member, and said central portion being generally convex.

2. A sacroiliac belt as claimed in claim l in which said pad is elongated and in which said stitching is in the form of a rectangle.

3. A sacroiliac belt as claimed in claim l in which said belt member is elastic.

4. A sacroiliac belt as claimed in claim l in which the pores of said foam rubber are not connected with each other so that a partial vacuum can be developed between the body of the wearer and the outer surface of said pad at the point of stitching.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,915,753 OShea June 27, 1933 2,449,641 Cidissen Sept. 2l, 1948 2,749,550 Pease June l2, 1956 

1. A SACROILIAC BELT COMPRISING A BELT MEMBER, A BUCKLE SECURING THE BELT IN A CLOSED POSITION, A FOAM RUBBER PAD MOUNTED ON THE BELT, AND STITCHING FOR SECURING SAID PAD TO THE FABRIC OF SAID BELT MEMBER, SAID STITCHING BEING IN THE FORM OF A CLOSED FIGURE TO DIVIDE THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID BELT INTO A MARGINAL PORTION AND A CENTRAL PORTION, SAID STITCHING SERVING TO COMPRESS SAID PAD AT THE POINT OF STITCHING, SAID MARGINAL PAD PORTION BEING TILTED AWAY FROM SAID BELT MEMBER, AND SAID CENTRAL PORTION BEING GENERALLY CONVEX. 